Chapter 261: Unsuccessful

I approached one of the blades and touched its grayish-white surface. A faint sensation of energy traveled through my hand.

— Indeed.

I closed my eyes for a moment. There was an extremely weak magical fluctuation.

But it was there.

— Only an Official Mage could cast a spell on such a massive scale and apply its effect to all these stones.

Toral looked around.

— Where is the laboratory?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several grayish-white tentacles spread across the bottom of the cliff.

Folbit used his transformation to investigate areas that would have been difficult for us to reach. After some time, he returned.

— I used my spell to detect the area earlier. I only found rocks and mud. There is no sign of a laboratory.

Mitral was holding a green eyeball between his fingers. The strange artifact seemed to function as a detection device.

He frowned.

— I didn’t find anything either.

Toral was clearly irritated.

— Let’s search the entire area.

His voice hardened.

— Six hours from now, we’ll meet again at the top of the cliff.

His impatience was obvious. The exploration had been his idea. If we ended the expedition without finding anything at all, it would be the worst possible outcome for him.

Toral had killed a genius from Black Bull Tower and was carrying a blood debt.

If his identity were discovered, an Official Mage could be sent after him. He needed to find something.

Toral was close to a mental breakdown.

— Split up and search?

Marak repeated the proposal.

The other four exchanged glances. Then, everyone agreed.

To be honest, I saw no problem with it. In fact, there was an obvious advantage. If we found the laboratory separately, each of us could try to find the treasure on our own.

That would increase our potential gains.

The five of us split up and began exploring different areas of the bottom of the cliff.

After walking for a while, I stopped.

— Biochip, analyze the geography and project a map of the area.

[Mission established.]

[Initiating geographical scan.]

Before long, a blue three-dimensional image appeared before my eyes.

Only I could see it.

I began analyzing the results. Beneath the cliff were several layers of granite. None showed any obvious signs of magical activity.

Perhaps the laboratory was protected by some kind of spell capable of blocking even detection methods.

Or perhaps...

I was looking in the wrong place.

If the laboratory had truly been built by an Official Mage, I shouldn’t expect to find it simply by digging through some rocks.

After all, if it were that easy...

It probably would have been looted a long time ago.

Six hours later, the sky gradually began to darken. The daylight disappeared behind the mountains.

At the top of the cliff, several tents had been set up, and a campfire burned in front of them.

A pot was slowly boiling over the fire. The aroma of wild vegetable soup spread throughout the camp.

Normally, after two days of traveling through that forest, a hot bowl of soup would have been enough to make any ordinary human salivate.

But that night...

None of the five of us had any appetite.

Toral looked at all of us.

— Everyone is back. Tell me what you found.

Folbit answered first.

— Nothing.

He crossed his arms.

— Aside from these stone blades, there is absolutely nothing.

Marak sighed.

— I didn’t find anything either.

Mitral remained silent.

I knew why.

His detection artifact hadn’t found any structure either.

Then Folbit looked directly at Toral.

— I have a question.

Toral raised his eyes.

— Speak.

— Could it be that you’re leading us in the wrong direction?

The atmosphere fell silent.

Toral’s face darkened. He abruptly stood up. The ring on his finger began emitting a green light.

— What did you say? Are you calling me an idiot?

Folbit didn’t back down.

I immediately realized that the situation could explode.

Before Toral could act, Mitral released an enormous wave of magical energy.

Boom.

The pressure spread throughout the camp and positioned itself directly between the two of them.

— That’s enough.

Mitral’s voice remained calm.

— Are we really going to start an internal conflict before we’ve even found the treasure?

Toral gritted his teeth, while Folbit remained motionless.

— I believe Toral.

The two of them looked at me.

— Otherwise, he could have simply come here alone and searched for the laboratory himself.

It was a simple statement.

But there was a reason I said it.

I also possessed a copy of the map that had belonged to the acolyte from Black Bull Tower whom we had eliminated earlier. I had already confirmed that the two maps were essentially identical.

Toral had brought us to exactly the right place.

He wasn’t lying about the location.

After Mitral’s intervention and my words, Toral and Folbit exchanged a glance.

Finally, both of them sat back down.

Marak slowly stirred the soup.

— I also searched the lower area. Everything was solid ground. I didn’t find any underground structure.

— An Official Mage’s treasures wouldn’t be that easy to find in the first place.

— Exactly.

I looked at Toral.

— Do you have any other clues?

As soon as I asked the question, the other three also turned their eyes toward him.

Toral remained silent.

For several seconds, he seemed to be deciding whether he should share that information.

Finally, he spoke:

— The clue I obtained was the map that brought us here.

— But there was something else written on it. Some ancient verses. They seemed to be a type of poem.

My eyes narrowed.

— Let me see it.

Mitral spoke almost at the same time:

— I’d also like to examine it.

Toral smiled slightly.

— Then I’ll show it to all of you.

He opened the map.

I approached and quickly scanned its entire surface.

It was the same route recorded by my Biochip.

But there was one difference.

Toral’s copy was much older. In the upper-right corner, there were several faded letters. The characters were strange. They seemed to twist and writhe like the tail of a dragon.

Mitral approached, and his eyes lit up.

— This is the Mentesti language.

He spent a few seconds studying the words.

— I’ve seen this before in a manual. It seems to say something like... "carry... and the people with respect... will be able to... garden..."

I continued staring at it and understood.

The language wasn’t particularly difficult for me.

— Only those who possess courage and respect will be able to see Reneu’s Gardens.

Silence.

Mitral turned his head toward me.

— You translated that immediately?

I nodded.

— That’s the only line on the map.

Mitral’s expression changed.

He seemed genuinely surprised.

— This obscure knowledge... you really...

I shrugged.

— It’s because I like spending time in the library.

I smiled, showing my teeth.

After all, no one needed to know how much information the Biochip had stored in my mind.

I looked at the map again.

— The name of the laboratory really does seem to be Reneu’s Gardens.

Marak tilted her head.

— But what does "courage and respect" mean?

She scratched her head in confusion.

— I always thought courage meant having the courage to cross the Far Mountain Mundane Forest.

Toral gave an ironic smile.

— It doesn’t seem to be the case now.

...

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